Kristoff Vernard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kristoff Vernard | |
 Kristoff Vernard. Art by Dan Bulanadi. |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Fantastic Four vol. 1 #247 (October 1982) as Kristoff. Fantastic Four vol. 1 #278 as Dr. Doom. |
| Created by | John Byrne |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Kristoff Vernand |
| Team affiliations | Fantastic Four. |
| Notable aliases | Dr. Doom; Victor Von Doom; Kristoff Von Doom |
| Abilities | Skilled in science and magic: Powered armor grants, Superhuman strength and durability, Energy projection, Flight |
Kristoff Vernard (formerly known as Kristoff von Doom and Dr. Doom) is a fictional character appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. Kristoff first appeared in John Byrne's "back to the basics" Fantastic Four run in issue #247 in October 1982. Kristoff served as heir to Doctor Doom, occasional ruler of Latveria, a probational member of the Fantastic Four, and temporal adventurer alongside Nathaniel Richards.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Heir
After being ousted as leader of Latveria, Dr. Doom and the Fantastic Four returned to the country to overthrow its leader Zorba. Doom met the young Kristoff and his mother. Both were still loyal to Doom, and so the former dictator placed them under his protection. However, Kristoff's mother was killed by a robot of Zorba's [1]. After destroying the robot and defeating Zorba, Dr. Doom adopted Kristoff as his heir and took him to live in Castle Doom [2].
[edit] Second Coming of Doom
Following the apparent murder of Dr. Doom by Terrax, the true conditions of being heir to Doom went into effect. Doom's robots took Kristoff and brainwashed him, also implanting him with Doom's mental patterns and detailed memories. However, he did stop the process before all of Doom's memories could be implanted (but after his intellect had been duplicated).
Now believing that he was the real Doom, Kristoff's first action was attempting to destroy the Fantastic Four by blowing up the Baxter Building [3], a plan drawn from memories of the real Dr. Doom's plot to kill the FF while he was teamed with the Sub-Mariner. The FF survived the explosion thanks to the force fields of Sue Richards, something Kristoff had not anticipated because he had stopped the memory transfer at a point before Sue Richards had fully developed her force field abilities. The FF quickly traveled to Doomstadt and defeated their adversary. To the team's surprise, the armor held not Doom but a child, whom the team took with them.
Kristoff would be imprisoned in Four Freedoms Plaza, the new home of the Four, following his destruction of the Baxter Building [4]. He was still convinced that he was Doom and Mister Fantastic hoped to restore him to his normal personality.
The boy would free himself with the aid of a Doombot sent to kidnap Franklin Richards, son of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman [5], by the recently resurrected Dr. Doom. Doom wanted to use Franklin as a bargaining chip for the soul of his mother which was held captive by Mephisto. Although still a child of about four or five, Franklin had powerful psychic powers which had enabled him to defeat Mephisto in a previous encounter [6]. This time, however, Doom's power inhibitors prevented Franklin from fighting the demon, who agreed to the bargain. But at that very moment, Kristoff, in full armor, burst in with an army of Doombots and challenged Doom, who he thought to be an impostor.
Meanwhile the FF, who had followed Kristoff in order to rescue Franklin, intervened and Mister Fantastic used a device of his own to enable his son to fight back against Mephisto. As the two Dooms battled, the Doombots stood by, unsure which to aid since they both claimed to be Doom and the brainscans seemed to confirm this.
The battle soon ended but Doom's mother was still not free. Her imprisonment in the nether realms was one of the few failures that Doom would admit to and he said as much to those present. The robots perceived this as doubt and a lack of confidence meaning Kristoff could only be the real ever-confident Dr. Doom. The Doombots turned on their creator and Dr. Doom was forced to flee.
Kristoff ruled Latveria as Doom [7] once again, where he would encounter the West Coast Avengers. To their surprise, he let them leave Latveria[8]. He stayed the regent until the original infiltrated the Castle and uttered a codeword that reverted Kristoff to his original personality[9]. Doom reclaimed his throne while Kristoff was sent as a decoy to battle Mr. Fantastic, however he was killed[10] and was placed in stasis in a Tibetan Monastery.
[edit] Life After Doom
Nathaniel Richards would revive Kristoff [11] along with Boris, Doom's former guardian, who was actually the Tomorrow Man in disguise. The former dictator would return with Richards and the Invisible Woman, where he would become a closely monitored member of the Fantastic Four, and close friends with Cassandra Lang, daughter of Ant-Man (Scott Lang) who had also joined the team following the "death" of Mister Fantastic. He eventually took his leave from the group to go with Nathaniel Richards. He was reunited with Doom [12] when the alternate future offspring of Franklin Richards and Rachel Summers called Hyperstorm, attacked the Fantastic Four [13] where he chose to help them instead of attacking at their weakest. The group defeated Hyperstorm.
Following the Onslaught saga, Kristoff and Nathaniel tried to collect the now-missing FF's equipment located in the Negative Zone. They then returned to Latveria, Kristoff with hopes of assuming the throne once again, but they were met with resistance by the Dreadknight and found Doombots in charge. The duo were then tricked by S.H.I.E.L.D. into defeating them [14].
Kristoff was last seen when both he and Nathaniel were displaced by Stryfe after his ship crashed into Castle Doom.
Nathanial Richards has hinted that he is Kristoff's father, which gives something on an irony that Doctor Doom chose, as his heir, the half-brother of his most hated rival.
[edit] Other Appearances
[edit] House of M
Kristoff was a member of Doom's Fearsome Four, as the Inhuman Torch. In the crafted world, Kristoff was the adopted son of Valeria and Doom, and thanks to the cosmic experimentation of his adoptive father, had the abilities of Johnny Storm[15].
[edit] 2099
There was some speculation due the character's memory lapses and vague beginnings, that the "Doom" of Earth 928 (2099 Universe) was not Victor Von Doom, but rather Kristoff Von Doom.
[edit] MC2
In the MC2 universe, Kristoff appears as an ally of the A-Next and the Fantastic Five. He uses the name "Doom" and has requested membership in the Fantastic Five. He is later shown to have indeed gained membership. His costume is a combination of his old mask and a green version of the F5 uniform.
[edit] Other Media
In the Heroes and Villains expansion pack for Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Kristoff Vernard is an alternate costume for Doctor Doom.
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Fantastic Four vol. 1 #247
- ^ Fantastic Four vol. 1 #258
- ^ Fantastic Four vol. 1 #278
- ^ Fantastic Four vol. 1 #279
- ^ Fantastic Four Annual #20
- ^ Fantastic Four vol. 1 #227
- ^ Fantastic Four Annual #20
- ^ West Coast Avengers #35
- ^ Fantastic Four vol. 1 #350
- ^ Fantastic Four vol. 1 #352
- ^ Fantastic Four vol. 1 #397
- ^ Fantastic Four #406
- ^ Fantastic Four #409
- ^ Tales of the Marvel Universe #1
- ^ House of M: Fantastic Four #1
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